What are your top three songs that inspired, defined, and blew your mind when you were in high school?
Kia ora, my name is Gemma and Original Material is a podcast where I interview guests about what music captured their teen spirit.
Please subscribe, so when the podcast is released you will be the first in line!
In high school I had so many moments where music jolted something within me that gave me connection to something beyond the conventional… something bigger than myself. Something that sounded like me.
I release music under the musical username of Instant Fantasy, and as I celebrate the release of remixes of my original recording of The Wet EP coming out through Sunreturn, now felt like the perfect time to talk to some of the artists and people involved with the original EP about their original material.
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The views and opinions expressed on Original Material are solely those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organisation. Content is for entertainment and informational purposes only.
Welcome to Original Material. I’m Gemma Syme, and each episode I ask my favorite musicians to share three songs that blew their minds in high school, three words that described their teenage selves, and one track every young person needs to hear today.
Introducing Today’s Guest
it is only right that our final guest is the mastermind behind the label Sunreturn. Joining me for this podcast is the prominent Tāmaki Makaurau-based broadcaster, publicist, and independent music champion, Zac Arnold!
In this episode, we talk about the early days of being a self-professed after-school "punisher" at the local CD store, and the unexpected pipeline that connects early-2000s animated Eurodance directly to a modern hyperpop obsession.
Zac takes us on a journey through his formative encounters with New Zealand music media - from catching half-played videos on TV to lurking on iconic local punk forums. He shares what it was like experiencing the raw, lawless energy of his very first DIY local hardcore show at a neighborhood church, witnessing a mind-melting live performance by a legendary noise-punk band, and how an artist playing solo bass chords through a wall of distortion completely revolutionized his entire approach to the instrument.
Chapters:
0:00:00 Welcome to Original Material
00:01:45 What were three words that you would use to describe yourself as a teenager
00:08:56 How did you discover new music in high school?
00:12:40 Song #1: The Mint Chicks – “Welcome to Nowhere”
00:19:11 Song #2: Brick vs Face – “Never Give Up”
00:28:48 Song #3: Despot – “Black Leaves”
00:35:18 One song all teens today should hear: Brian Eno – “Discreet Music” (Side A)
Stream or buy the tracks featured in the podcast here: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/TOqrJmJ6VK
https://instantfantasy.bandcamp.com/
https://www.sunreturn.co.nz/
This podcast is for educational purposes. Any opinions and all that jazz is the hosts only, and not their employers and such.
Created, recorded by Gemma Syme
Edited by Daif King
14 Jul 2026
Original Material: Tender Moonlight
Welcome to Original Material. I’m Gemma Syme, and each episode I ask my favorite musicians to share three songs that blew their minds in high school, three words that described their teenage selves, and one track every young person needs to hear today.
Introducing Today’s Guest
Prepare yourselves, ladies. By popular demand, I am sitting down with the magnetic Tender Moonlight.
In this episode, we step back into a formative era of early internet exploration—from dial-up 56k Limewire downloads to deep-diving into international music forums like the Mars Volta chatrooms to crack the code of complex time signatures. We also discuss his deep, enduring love for the aggressive, uniform-wearing grindcore—including the story of how he ended up with a custom karaoke track for his favorite song. Plus, we look at his sudden pivot into the glossy, smoky, primary-colored world of 80s Italo-disco, and how a low-bitrate YouTube video completely birthed the "dad aesthetic" performance art of Tender Moonlight today.
Chapters:
0:00:00
00:01:24 What were three words that you would use to describe yourself as a teenager
00:04:03 How did you discover new music in high school?
00:07:06 Song #1: Sabot - "Tracking"
00:10:24 Song #2: The Locust - "Anything Jesus Can Do I Can Do Better"
00:14:11 Song #3: Roger Meno - "I Find The Way"
00:18:36 One song all teens today should hear: Just keep going. And go to your local record store.
Stream or buy the tracks featured in the podcast here: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/jp2rFz6Afp
https://www.instagram.com/realtendermoonlight/
https://myspace.com/thanksforthename
https://instantfantasy.bandcamp.com/
https://www.sunreturn.co.nz/
This podcast is for educational purposes. Any opinions and all that jazz is the hosts only, and not their employers and such.
Created, recorded by Gemma Syme
Edited by Daif King
7 Jul 2026
Original Material: Matt Beauchamp Buck
Welcome to Original Material. I’m Gemma Syme, and each episode I ask my favorite musicians to share three songs that blew their minds in high school, three words that described their teenage selves, and one track every young person needs to hear today.
Introducing Today’s Guest
From an 11-year-old kid whose primary job in his first band was hitting the "on and off" button on a Casio keyboard's drum loop, to being my band mate in Holidays with Friends in the late 2000’s charging around Wellington’s alt-indie scene, Matt Buck joins me today.
Matt takes us on a journey through his older siblings' music collections, tuning into Channel Z from the bathtub, and how a chic, pale-blue album cover featuring a glass chair completely changed how he looked at the connection between music and visuals. We also talk about his first band, The Mabin Experience, his love for "unbelievably smooth" vocals, and how his synaesthesia allows him to literally see sounds as distinct colors and three-dimensional objects.
Chapters:
0:00:00 Welcome to Original Material
00:01:51 What were three words that you would use to describe yourself as a teenager
00:03:46 How did you discover new music in high school?
00:06:25 Song #1: The Strokes – “Hard To Explain”
00:11:44 Song #2: Jimi Hendrix – “All Along The Watchtower”
00:18:05 Song #3: Beck – “Debra”
00:28:10 One song all teens today should hear: The Modern Lovers – “She Cracked”
Stream or buy the tracks featured in the podcast here: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/P9nSbOpqMI
https://holidaywithfriends.bandcamp.com/
https://myspace.com/thanksforthename
https://instantfantasy.bandcamp.com/
https://www.sunreturn.co.nz/
This podcast is for educational purposes. Any opinions and all that jazz is the hosts only, and not their employers and such.
Created, recorded by Gemma Syme
Edited by Daif King
30 Jun 2026
Original Material: Junus Orca AKA Josh Holmes
Welcome to Original Material. I’m Gemma Syme, and each episode I ask my favorite musicians to share three songs that blew their minds in high school, three words that described their teenage selves, and one track every young person needs to hear today.
Introducing Today’s Guest
Today’s guest is someone who spent his childhood holidays rewiring his brain by looping Blink-182 and Oasis on a Philips Discman, learnt his first bass lines on a one-stringed 1960s guitar, and his name is Josh Holmes
You’ll know him best as Junus Orca, his solo electronic music project where he crafts deeply atmospheric, textured, and visceral soundscapes. Today, we are tracing his sonic roots back to Maidstone, UK. We talk about the 10-year-old "grunge" kid who first introduced him to heavy rock, obsessing over music videos on Kerrang! TV and MTV2, and how a classic 90s club anthem directly inspired one of his own songs today.
Chapters:
0:00:00 Welcome to Original Material
00:01:09 What were three words that you would use to describe yourself as a teenager
00:05:02 How did you discover new music in high school?
00:08:24 Song #1: +44 – “Chapter 13”
00:14:22 Song #2: Blink-182 – “Down”
00:19:50 Song #3: Robert Miles – “Children”
00:27:19 One song all teens today should hear: Malibu – “Camargue”
Stream or buy the tracks featured in the podcast here: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/3X3Yu55bYD
https://junusorca.bandcamp.com/
https://instantfantasy.bandcamp.com/
https://www.sunreturn.co.nz/
This podcast is for educational purposes. Any opinions and all that jazz is the hosts only, and not their employers and such.
Created, recorded by Gemma Syme
Edited by Daif King
23 Jun 2026
Original Material: Yvois AKA Ivy Rossiter
Welcome to Original Material! I’m Gemma Syme, and on this podcast I talk to some of my favourite musicians about three songs that inspired, defined, or absolutely blew their minds back in high school.
We also dive into the three words that described them as a teenager, and I ask for the one track they believe every young person should hear today.
Introducing Today’s Guest
Before she was the brilliant electronic artist Yvois, an Ableton wizard, and an inspiring music educator—teenage Ivy Rossiter was a rule-following classical guitar student filled with a whole lot of unspoken punk rage.
Today, Ivy helps students find their own creative voices, but her own musical journey started in a much more turbulent place. We're going back to the days of Channel Z radio broadcasts, single-sex school dynamics, and the isolation of being a Rotary Exchange student in a tiny, conservative Catholic town in Canada. It’s a story about fighting the inner critic, discovering social justice through a pair of cherry red Doc Martens, and finding a sense of belonging in the music when the world around you feels completely overwhelming.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:45 What were three words that you would use to describe yourself as a teenager
00:04:40 How did you discover new music in high school?
00:9:38 Song #1: Operation Ivy – “Unity”
00:20:10 Song #2: Ani DiFranco – “Untouchable Face”
00:27:25 Song #3: Jimmy Eat World – “The Middle”
00:32:40 One song all teens today should hear: Chumbawamba – “The Day the Nazis Died”
Stream or buy the tracks featured in the podcast here: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/0Cmb0TRuVa
Mentions in the podcast:
Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff podcast "Chumbawumba" episodes: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-cool-people-who-did-cool-96003360/episode/part-one-chumbawamba-how-to-sell-101682170/
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-cool-people-who-did-cool-96003360/episode/czm-rewind-part-two-chumbawamba-how-251597094/
Lillith Fair Documentary: https://www.flicks.co.nz/movie/lilith-fair-building-a-mystery/
https://yvois.com/
https://instantfantasy.bandcamp.com/
https://www.sunreturn.co.nz/
Created, recorded by Gemma Syme
Edited by Gemma Syme and Daif King
This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes. Any opinions and all that jazz is the hosts only, and not their employers and such.
17 Jun 2026
Original Material: Karl Sölve Steven
Welcome to Original Material! I’m Gemma Syme, and on this podcast I talk to some of my favourite musicians about three songs that inspired, defined, or absolutely blew their minds back in high school.
We also dive into the three words that described them as a teenager, and I ask for the one track they believe every young person should hear today.
The guests in this series are all incredible artists who have each remixed a track for my band Instant Fantasy. Those remixes make up the upcoming release, The Wet EP (Remixed), coming out through Sunreturn in 2026.
Introducing Today’s Guest
From dodging "playground justice" as a cheeky, undersized nerd to discovering a world of Japanese avant-garde and the "Greek Chorus" of 60s girl groups—Karl Sölve Steven joins me today to unpack the tracks that shaped him.
You’ll know his music from his legendary work in Supergroove, The Drab Doo Riffs, and Heart Attack Alley—or more recently, his collaboration with Anna Fält. Karl is also the mind behind award-winning cinematic scores that provide the soundscapes for both New Zealand and international films.
Karl is an epic human and a sophisticated sound explorer, and it was a total pleasure to sit down with him.
Chapters:
0:00:00 Welcome to Original Material
00:01:35 What were three words that you would use to describe yourself as a teenager
00:05:22 How did you discover new music in high school?
00:11:25 Song #1: The Shangri-Las - "Leader of the Pack"
00:19:01 Song #2: George Clinton - "Atomic Dog"
00:26:27 Song #3: Devo - "Beautiful World"
00:30:56 One song all teens today should hear: Hildegard von Bingen - "O Virtus Sapientiae"
Stream or buy the tracks featured in the podcast here: https://www.tunemymusic.com/share/y52lUirnAg
https://karlsolvesteven.com/
https://instantfantasy.bandcamp.com/
https://www.sunreturn.co.nz/
This podcast is for educational purposes. Any opinions and all that jazz is the hosts only, and not their employers and such.
Created, recorded by Gemma Syme
Edited by Gemma Syme and Daif King
1 Apr 2026
Original Material - Podcast Trailer
What are your top three songs that inspired, defined, and blew your mind when you were in high school?
Kia ora, my name is Gemma and Original Material is a podcast where I interview guests about what music captured their teen spirit.
Please subscribe, so when the podcast is released you will be the first in line!
In high school I had so many moments where music jolted something within me that gave me connection to something beyond the conventional… something bigger than myself. Something that sounded like me.
I release music under the musical username of Instant Fantasy, and as I celebrate the release of remixes of my original recording of The Wet EP coming out through Sunreturn, now felt like the perfect time to talk to some of the artists and people involved with the original EP about their original material.
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